The present invention relates very generally to liquid dispensing machines and pertains, more particularly, to automatically controlled apparatus for providing for self-fill of the tank of a dispensing machine. Even more particularly, the invention relates to an automatic self-fill apparatus embodied in control circuit means for use with a machine that dispenses a liquid comprised of water and a concentrate syrup adapted to be jointly fed to a tank of the machine.
Machines that dispense a beverage are typically comprised of a tank for the storage of a beverage. The beverage is typically made up of a mixture of water and a concentrate syrup maintained at a cool temperature by means of evaporation cooling coils. These machines may have a water inlet feed but for the most part, the beverage in the storage tank of the dispenser is replenished by means of emptying a container of the syrup concentrate into the tank when the tank is sufficiently low to enable the tank to receive the full amount of concentrate in the concentrate container. Water is then added in an appropriate amount to provide the proper concentration of the beverage. This normal operation of replenishing the beverage in the tank is relatively messy to carry out and is time consuming. This prior technique is also a drawback in that the machine is required to be out of operation for a period of time while the replenishment takes place. Also, in replenishing the beverage it is necessary to wait a significant period of time until the entire content of the tank is cooled to serving temperature.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved dispensing machine for beverages in which the dispenser is automatically filled. This means that a relatively large syrup concentrate reservoir can be used with the concentrate being replenished and supplied into the storage tank on a demand basis.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic self-fill apparatus for a dispensing machine in which the fill operates in an automatic fashion so as to maintain the level of the beverage within a certain range in the tank. This normally maintains the beverage between set upper and lower limits as far as the level of beverage in the tank of the dispensing machine is concerned.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic self-fill apparatus for a dispensing machine which is safe in operation, is relatively easy to maintain, and which can be incorporated into the dispensing machine relatively inexpensively. In accordance with the present invention, it is preferred to have a safety override so that even should the upper level limit be exceeded, there is an override mechanism by which the machine can be shut down for servicing or to take other action.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic self-fill apparatus further having the feature of achieving automatic-fill with an adjustable, consistent proportioning of syrup to water and thus provide the desired concentration of the beverage.